By: Joseph Hanna

Why the American Revolution is important to me, by Joseph Hanna?

The American Revolution is important to me because it allowed the colonists

to be independent and take no orders from the British king. If it wasnt for
them, the United States wouldnt exist today. It would still be controlled by
a British king. The revolution is important to me because it showed the
strength of America through faith and unity.
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was a law passed by the
British authorities tso hat no one can settle west of
the Appalachian mountains. This law was in fa-
vor of the Native Americans because they didnt
want the colonists to bother them. Hard-headed
colonists ignored the proclamation and started to settle
in the West. This law soon changed and western
settlements were created.
King George lll King George lll was the king of England at that
time. He gave orders and decided on laws by pass-
ing numerous documents like the Proclamation of
1763. Weird enough he had a disease that caused him
to be angry and very negative. He taxed the colo-
nist, and they hated him for that. They responded
by dumping tea in the Boston harbor. King
George felt angry, so he created the Intolerable
Acts. The colonists declared independence from the
British authorities in 1776. King George felt sad
because of the loss of the colonies.
The British needed money, so they taxed the
colonists. The Sugar Act was primarily a
tax on sugar that was imported from the West
Indies. The Stamp Act mainly taxed
colonists on paper items.. Finally, the Town-
shend Acts forced the colonists to pay the
government, so the government can then pay its
government officials. The colonists, sick of the
taxes, responded in the Boston massacre and the Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Massacre was a street fight between the colonists and the British. The end result
was five dead colonists. This fight happened because the colonists were sick of the Townshend Acts
and their treatment by the British. Also, the colonists, dressed like Indians, dumped three-
hundred and forty chests of tea, about forty-six tons, into Boston harbor. All in all, they were
frustrated and done dealing with the British antics.
After the tea party at the Boston harbor, the British punished the colonists by employing strict
laws called the Intolerable Acts. The First Continental Congress happened as a result. The
First Continental Congress consisted of fifty-six delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies. They
all met in Philadelphia at Carpenters Hall . The delegates discussed how they wanted rights
and independence. They wrote a letter to King George. If the issue wasnt resolved, then they
would meet again in May.
 Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the American Revolution.
The British marched to Lexington to find seventy minutemen waiting for them. No one
still knows who shot the first till this day. Eight minutemen died and ten were injured unfor-
tunately. Next, the British marched to Concord in search of weapons, but they retreated
because four-hundred minutemen were firing at them. The British were eventually trapped
in Boston.
The delegates met again because King George didnt care about their concerns.. Three achieve-
ments were accomplished in this Second Continental Congress.. Two main documents that were
written in this congress were the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independ-
ence, which led to Americas independence. Also, the congress appointed a leader for the Conti-
nental Army. That leader was George Washington.
A philosopher who paved the way for our founding fa-
thers with great ideas. The Second Treatise of the Civil
Government was an essay written by Locke that made its
way into famous documents. Most of his theories were
found in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The
most well-remembered one is Life, Liberty, and Property.
The founding fathers believed that not everyone can have
property, but everyone can attain happiness, so they changed
that aspect of the idea.
Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers, had
a central role in the American Revolution. He
was one of five writers of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. He used many of Lockes ideas in the
document. During the American Revolution, he
was also he governor of Virginia. Plus, he partici-
pated in the Continental Congress.
 Loyalists aka Tories were American colonists who were
loyal to the British king. They respected and followed Brit-
ish orders. They were against the Patriots, people who were
fighting for independence. An amazing but true fact is that the
entire American colonist population was only fifteen percent
loyalists.
Patriots aka Rebels were colonists against the Loyalists and thus the British Crown. The
Patriots desired freedom from the British royalty. Simply stated, they wanted to be independent.
A famous, secret organization created by the Patriots was the Sons of Liberty. Some famous
people who were part of the Patriot group were George Washington and John Hancock.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the
America wanted freedom, so they had to fight for it.
The Americans had a great advantage because even
though the British were more experienced, but they
had to resupply and that took time. Moreover,
America had the home-court advantage with the
British fighting overseas. Some weaknesses were a
lack of military experience as the British army.
 Some of the strengths of the British were that they had
better trained men to fight against the colonists. However,
they had to bring back supplies from Britain, which was
time-consuming. This played into the hands of the colonists.
Another weakness is their lack of familiarity with the land.
Thus, the British's main strength was their ability to fi-
nance their war efforts through their enormous wealth.
 Battle of Saratoga became a turning point in the American Revolution. It was the first
American victory against the British. In fact, it convinced the French to join the side of the
colonists. The British changed their strategy of fighting by willing to fight in the South because
they had Loyalist support.
 George Washington is one of the
famous Patriots remembered to-
day for his courageous accomplish-
ments. He was a delegate from
Virginia who joined the Continental Congress in the year of 1774.
With great military experience, George Washington was selected to
become the Commander of Chief for the Continental Army.
One of the most iconic images of George Washington is his crossing
of the Delaware River leading a successful surprise attack on the British.
This was the place where George Washington and the Continental Army stayed for the winter of
1777-1778. They stayed there because it was close to Pennsylvania and near the British. The weather
was harsh, disease was spreading all over, and food was scarce. Even though the Continental Army
had to survive all of this, General Friedrich von Steuben taught them the tactics of fighting, which
only helped the colonists in the war.
 Surprisingly, women did a lot in the war.
Some were maids, nurses, cooks, and etc.
Surprisingly, some women became secret sol-
diers and spies. They were willing to do any-
thing to help America gain its independence.
For example, Deborah Sampson, a fa-
mous secret soldier, cut her hair and changed her name to a masculine name. She fought in New
York. Overall, women played a big role in the American Revolution.
 Battle of Yorktown was the last battle in the American Revolution. The American army
trapped the British by land. The clever
French army trapped possible escape
routes by sea. This battle lasted about
eleven days. British General Corn-
wallis sent the white flag for surrender.
America finally gained independence!
Parliament decided that they were finished
with war, so they voted to end it. This
treaty was signed on September 3, 1783.
British showed respect to America
through this document. They recognized the
thirteen colonies as officially independent
from them America finally accomplished
their main goal of beating the best army at
that time, the British.
 One may want to learn about the American Revolution because it shows the
birth of a new nation. The American Revolution was the only plan for the
colonists to gain independence from the British. People should learn how we
started from the bottom and now how we are here as one united people. Students
should learn how the American leaders used strategy to knock-out their enemy,
the British. Without the American Revolution, there is no America today.
One may want to read this American Revolution book because the information is separated in
small summarized paragraphs making students liv es easier. It is an easier way to understand
the information by taking it in slower than just getting lectured at. Reading information by
yourself and summarizing it in your own words is easier because you will remember the informa-
tion better. If a teacher just tells you everything about the American Revolutionary War
than you are probably going to forget the information because you are trying to put too many
things on the salad at once.
Joseph Hanna
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joseph Hanna is currently a student at

Buckingham Charter Magnet High
School with a special interest in History.
He is a winner of the Presidents Educa-
tion Award. He resides in Fairfield, CA
with his family.

2015 by Joseph S. Hanna. All Rights Reserved.